Head of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs

Outepai; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 250,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Outépai is seeking a senior Regulatory Affairs lead to manage relationships with UAE transport regulators and navigate the evolving autonomous vehicle framework in Abu Dhabi and across emirates. The role requires deep knowledge of ITC, RTA and MOI processes, fluent Arabic and English, and the ability to translate regulatory expectations into concrete business actions.

You will guide permits, licensing, renewals, and incident responses, while monitoring regulatory horizon to ensure proactive

Qualifications

• Established relationships with UAE transport regulators (ITC, RTA, MOI) or adjacent authorities.
• Government relations experience in regulated safety-sensitive sectors (transport, mobility, logistics, aviation).
• Ability to interpret unwritten regulatory expectations and translate to actionable guidance for business teams.
• Bilingual in Arabic and English; deep understanding of UAE permit/licensing regimes.

Responsibilities

• Maintain regular contact with regulators to manage permits, renewals and registrations.
• Read regulator concerns behind formal requests and translate into practical business actions.
• Oversee end-to-end permits, vehicle registration, plates, routing approvals and safety dossiers.
• Lead incident/complaint responses with Operations and Legal to meet regulator expectations.
• Monitor regulatory horizon and translate upcoming changes into business readiness plans.
• Represent the company at government-facing events and industry forums to strengthen regulatory standing.
• Explain regulatory requirements to Operations, Safety, and Product and communicate operational realities to regulators.

Skills

Regulatory relations

Government liaison

Arabic & English fluency

Crisis management

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Law/Public Policy/related

Job description

We operate a licensed autonomous delivery fleet in Abu Dhabi, under the permit-and-oversight regime run by ITC (Integrated Transport Centre) in coordination with the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council (SASC), the Cabinet's RegLab, and the Ministry of Interior's Supervisory Committee for Advanced Driving Systems Testing. As the emirate moves from pilot to commercial Level 4 operation, and as Dubai (RTA, under Dubai AV Law No. 9 of 2023), Ras Al Khaimah, and the federal traffic authorities each run their own evolving frameworks, our ability to operate and expand depends on one thing more than any other: whether the people who issue our permits trust us.

This role owns that relationship. Not just the paperwork — the actual standing we have with ITC, SASC, RTA and the other bodies that decide whether our vehicles are on the road tomorrow. You are the person who can pick up the phone when something goes wrong, who understands what a regulator is really worried about before they say it outright, and who makes sure our internal teams never find out about a new requirement by being penalised for missing it.

What You’ll Own

• The relationship, not just the compliance file — regular, proactive contact with ITC, SASC and (where relevant) RTA counterparts that exists independently of whatever permit or renewal is currently in progress. When an incident, complaint, or ambiguous situation comes up, you should be the reason it gets resolved as a conversation rather than an escalation.
• Reading the unwritten rules — understanding what regulators actually care about behind a formal request — safety optics, public sentiment, a prior incident elsewhere, an unstated red line — and translating that into guidance the business can act on before it becomes a formal problem.
• Permits, licensing and renewals end to end — operating permits, vehicle registration and plates, route and zone approvals, and the safety/operational dossiers regulators require to keep them current, across every emirate we operate or plan to operate in.
• Incident and complaint response — acting as first point of contact when an incident, public complaint, or media enquiry reaches a government body, working with Operations and Legal to respond quickly and in the register regulators expect.
• Regulatory horizon-scanning — tracking how the ITC permit regime, Dubai AV Law, the federal traffic law, and other emirates' frameworks (e.g. Ras Al Khaimah) are evolving, and translating upcoming changes into what the business needs to prepare for, ahead of time rather than after a notice arrives.
• Representing the company externally — government-facing events and forums (e.g. Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, DRIFTx), industry council participation, and co-positioning with partners where our regulatory standing benefits from visibility.
• Internal translation both ways — explaining regulatory requirements to Operations, Safety, and Product in terms they can execute against, and explaining our operational reality to regulators in terms that support trust rather than erode it.

What You’ll Need

• Real relationships already in place with UAE transport or mobility regulators — ITC, RTA, DMT, or an adjacent authority (traffic police, MOI, a free zone transport regulator). We need someone who already has counterparts who'll take their call, not someone starting a Rolodex from zero.
• Government relations experience in a regulated, safety-sensitive sector — transport, mobility, logistics, aviation, or a comparable licensed-operations environment. Autonomous vehicle, robotics, or smart-mobility experience is a strong plus, but seniority and trust built with UAE regulators matters more than the specific sector.
• Comfort operating in the grey area between formal and informal — able to read a room, sense what's actually being asked, and act on it appropriately, without needing everything spelled out in writing first.
• Working fluency in how UAE permit and licensing regimes actually function — not just what the law says, but how approvals really move through an entity like ITC or RTA in practice.
• Fluent Arabic and English — regulatory relationships in the UAE are built and maintained substantially in Arabic; this is not optional for this role.
• Sound judgement under pressure — when an incident happens, you are often the first internal person a regulator hears from. What you say in the first hour matters.
• Valid UAE driving licence and willingness to travel between Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and other emirates as needed.

Strongly Preferred

• Prior experience specifically in autonomous vehicle, robotaxi, or smart mobility regulatory affairs — anywhere globally, not only the UAE
• Existing familiarity with SASC, RegLab, or the Ministry of Interior's Advanced Driving Systems Testing framework
• A network that extends to Dubai's RTA or other emirates' transport authorities, in addition to Abu Dhabi
• Experience representing a company at government-facing industry events or councils